Over ₹2.4 crore transferred from tourism department in past 3 years: Police

During the investigations, it was found that there were 21 transfers from 2021-2024 with tourism department’s permission

Over ₹2.4 crore was transferred by IDBI bank officials from various tourism department accounts in the last three years “without the department’s permission or knowledge”, the police said quoting an FIR on Sunday. This comes amid the row over alleged multi-crore case in the Karnataka State Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation.

The cybercrime cell discovered that a total sum of ₹2.47 crore was transferred from three tourism department accounts 21 times over the last three year (File photo)

Superintendent of police (SP) of Bagalkot Amarnath Reddy told reporters that an FIR has been filed with Bagalkot cyber crime station against the manager and staff of the IDBI bank’s Bagalkot branch. “An official from the tourism department lodged the FIR on July 11. Initial investigations have confirmed the fraud,” Reddy said.

He further said that a total of ₹2,47,73,999 was transferred from the tourism department’s accounts. The department’s accounts were jointly managed by the president of the tourism department committee and the deputy commissioner of Bagalkot. The fraudulent transactions occurred between October 28, 2021, and February 22, 2024, he quoted the FIR as stating.

A meeting to discuss the issue was attended by Bagalkot deputy commissioner Janaki KM and the bank manager. “We discovered that the bank transferred funds 21 times between October 2021 and February 2024 without the department’s permission or knowledge,” the SP added.

The complainant, Gopal Hittalmani, an official from the accounts department of the tourism department, said that he noticed discrepancies in the transaction statements.

In early July, he found several large fund transfers, reducing the balance from ₹1.63 crore to just ₹2,915 by July 11.

“This raised suspicions, and further verification revealed the extent of the fraud,” Reddy said.

Upon suspecting fraud, Hittalmani checked the account holder’s copy in the chequebook and found that no cheque had been issued in the past three years. Further investigation confirmed the fraud, leading to the involvement of the police cyber crime cell.

The cybercrime cell discovered that a total sum of ₹2.47 crore was transferred from three tourism department accounts 21 times over the last three years. “As the investigation is ongoing, we cannot disclose the recipient accounts,” Reddy stated, adding that the implicated accounts have been frozen. He stated that the bank has been asked to provide details of the recipient accounts.

“The bank wouldn’t have dared to commit fraud if the department had actively monitored the accounts,” Janaki said.